THE ROLE OF LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A CASE FOR MALAWI By Geoffrey Salanje College Librarian Bunda College University.

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Presentation on theme: "THE ROLE OF LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A CASE FOR MALAWI By Geoffrey Salanje College Librarian Bunda College University."— Presentation transcript:

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THE ROLE OF LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A CASE FOR MALAWI By Geoffrey Salanje College Librarian Bunda College University of Malawi P.O. Box 219 LILONGWE 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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DEFINITION OF DIGITAL DIVIDE The term is used to describe the discrepancy between people who have access to and the resources to use new information and communication tools, such as the Internet, and people who do not have the resources and access to the technology. The term also describes the discrepancy between those who have the skills, knowledge and abilities to use the technologies and those who do not. The digital divide can exist between those living in rural areas and those living in urban areas, between the educated and uneducated, between economic classes, and on a global scale between more and less industrially developed nations. Internet 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN MALAWI  Developments in ICT  Improved telecommunications services. In the past ten years or so, telecommunication facilities have improved. Malawi has seen the introduction of cell phones, an increase in the number of telephone lines, radio stations, phone bureaus, Internet cafés and Internet service providers. Below are some figures for 2003 and nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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Developments in ICT… (cont’d) b.SchoolNet Malawi Project  SchoolNet Malawi currently has 50 participating schools. SchoolNet Malawi aims at providing Malawian children, at primary and secondary levels, with an opportunity to learn about new technologies in the field of ICT in order to compete in the global knowledge based economy. In line with the Ministry of Education’s policy of equitable access to education opportunities, SchoolNet Malawi therefore, provides and facilitates ICT development in schools.  Since its inception in 1999 SchoolNet Malawi has distributed over 832 computers to 50 participating schools. 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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Developments in ICT… (cont’d) c.Development of National Policies The country has come up with a number of policies among which are the ICT for Development (ICT4D) Policy and The National Policy on Library, Documentation, and Information Services. The development of such policies give broad guidelines from which action programmes and services can be developed to facilitate meaningful involvement of the national information infrastructure in the country’s vision and strategic planning. 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP 1. Increased Bandwidth and Optimize its Usage Librarians are in the forefront in increasing and optimizing usage of bandwidth. One of the major activities is the establishment of the Malawi Library Information Consortium (MALICO) (http://www.malico.mw/) whose main objective is to improve access to electronic information. MALICO has within a few years of its existence: 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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 Brought into the country four V-SATs. The installation of the four VSATs has eased and increased accessibility to electronic information. Below are some statistics for January – June 2006 from International Availability of Scientific Publications’ (INASP) Programme for the Enhancement of Research Information (PERI). MALICO members contribute to the subscription of e-resources offered to the country by PERI and eiFL (Electronic Information for Libraries). JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneTotal Users Searches Table of Contents Abstracts Articles MALICO…(cont’d)

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Subscribes to electronic journals through PERI and eiFL programmes. Apart from the e-resources which MALICO subscribes for its members, libraries in Malawi access to other e-resources which are offered for free through organizations such as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) and The Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CTA). Some of the resources are: AGORA (Access to Global Online Resources in Agriculture), AJOL (African Journal Online) HINARI (Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative). MALICO …(cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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3. Capacity Building  Internet for Influence Programme. Initiated by the British Council (Malawi office), librarians train different groups in how to use computers in general and how to access electronic information using the Internet in particular. So far some women members of parliament, young women leaders, journalists and lawyers have been trained.  Use of Electronic Information Resources. On a regular basis, librarians train their users on how to search and retrieve quality and relevant electronic information. MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP… (cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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Capacity Building…Cont’d  ICT training by the Information Resource Centre (IRC) of the American Embassy. Librarians at IRC have conducted ICT training since They target groups working in areas such as education, health, judiciary, HIV and AIDS, small and medium enterprises, and those belonging to various religious groups. So far the section has trained over 200 people. MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP… (cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP… (cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA  American Corners IRC through the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy has also established what they call ‘American Corners’ in the three major libraries in the country’s three regions. American Corners are like Internet cafes with at least five computers on a network. They are open to the general public at a small fee for Internet access. Capacity Building…Cont’d

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 Library and Information Science and ICT degree programmes at Mzuzu University. The programmes had an initial intake of over 15 students each. Once the programmes start graduating students over the next two years, the country will experience an increase in the number of trained personnel who will make a substantial difference in the ‘fight’ to bridge the digital gap. MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP… (cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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 Mother and Child Project The project, which aims at encouraging mothers to read and tell stories to their children, has introduced Computer games and lessons so that the children are encouraged to learn how to use computers at a very early stage. MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP… (cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA 4.National Library Services of Malawi – ICT Activities

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Baobab Project National Library Services is embarking on a project to provide some low cost ICT services in its ten branch libraries scattered throughout the country through what is called ‘Baobab project’. In this project, NLS would acquire at least two low cost computers (costing about US$160 per computer) running on low power (110amps) for each branch library. These computers are to run on solar panels or wind turbines with a high life battery. Most of the NLS branch libraries are in rural areas with no electricity. As such this project will enable branch libraries to offer certain ICT services to the users, especially in rural areas. MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP… (cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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MALAWI LIBRARIANS IN BRIDGING THE DIGITAL GAP… (cont’d) 5. Malawi Research and Education Network (MAREN) Activities Librarians are participating in MAREN ( activities to ensure fast and reliable Internet connectivity. Founded in October 2005 to offer a single focus for pursuing excellent Internet connectivity for the Tertiary Education and Research Sectors in Malawi. MAREN works in a regional grouping known as UbuntuNet Alliance for Research and Education Networking ( The vision of delivering very high speed - gigabits (Gb/s) connectivity instead of the current kilobits (kb/s) between African Universities and Research Institutions is driving the Alliance forward at a rapid pace nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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So far MAREN has been involved in the following activities which are now at various stages:  Developing a campus connected with fiber cables for the University of Malawi sites: College of Medicine and related medical research complexes, Blantyre Campus of Kamuzu College of Nursing and the Malawi Polytechnic  Working with MACRA, (Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority), for harmonious regulatory conditions for academic connectivity MACRA  Collaborating on the activities aimed at establishing the Malawi Internet Exchange. Malawi Internet Exchange Malawi Internet Exchange MAREN … (Cont’d) 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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CHALLENGES  Funding There is a lot of dependence on donors/partners to fund activities that aim at bridging the digital gap. Libraries in Malawi are getting funding support from partners such as FAO, Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD), Book Aid International, World Bank, Department for International Development (DFID), Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) for most of their ICT activities and programmes. Most of the institutions have no budgets for ICT. 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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CHALLENGES…(Cont’d)  Inadequate ICT Expertise The country does not have enough people with ICT skills, especially librarians. This is an area in which Malawi as a country has not done well. There are about twenty trained librarians and 20% of them have very little expertise in ICT. Degree programmes at Mzuzu University and the impending a master’s degree programme at University of Malawi give some light of hope 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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CHALLENGES…(Cont’d)  Illiteracy Malawi has about 20% of its population aged 5 years and above that have never attended school. Very few of the Malawians who are literate have only basic computer skills. Very few of the Malawians who are literate have only basic computer skills. Source: National Statistical Office of Malawi (2005). Statistical Yearbook Zomba: NSO. P nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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CHALLENGES… (Cont’d)  Malawi Content Online There is not much Malawi content online. Whatever is available is more in other languages rather than local ones. Librarians are supposed to seriously embark on digitization of Malawiana publications and make them available online, once the digitization efforts outlined above start bearing more fruits. 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA

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CONCLUSION Librarians in Malawi, both within their own capabilities and by working with other stakeholders, are doing a lot to bridge the digital gap. However, there is long way to go! 32nd IAMSLIC Annual Conference 9th –12th October, 2006 Portland, Oregon - USA